General Admissions Information

    Preference and allocation of places

    Parents who state their preferences for schools and return their application form before the closing date will be allocated places in accordance with the admissions criteria. Once the allocation procedure has been completed late applicants’ forms will be considered as they arrive. If there are no vacancies at the preferred school late applicants will join the waiting lists at a position determined by the admission criteria. The effect of this is that a child may move up or down the waiting list. Pupils withdrawing from the list or late applicants joining the waiting list will alter the position of others on the list.

    Appeals

    If your child does not get a place at the LA school you prefer, then you have a legal right to appeal against the decision. If you want an appeal form, write to, or telephone or call in at theVT Offices in Leyton. We will send you an appeal form. You must send the form back to us within 14 days.

    Parents should be aware that the vast majority of appeals are unsuccessful (96% last year).

    You have the right to appeal only once for a school in the same academic year unless there are any major changes in your circumstances since the last appeal was heard.

    If your child does not get a place at a voluntary aided or foundation school, then the appeal must go to the Clerk of Governors at the school. Enquiries about the application process or appeals must be made with the V.A. / V. C. school concerned.

    How does the LA allocate places in maintained schools?

    If the number of applicants is more than the school’s admission limit then the Waltham Forest or appropriate school admission criteria are used to find out who should be given a place. They are listed in order of priority.

    Admissions Criteria and Explanations

    1. Pupils with statements under the Education Act 1996 Section 328 specifying designated provision at a mainstream school.

    Explanation: In such cases the child's statement would name the school because it had specialised provision suitable for that child. The existence of the statement must be made known at the time of application.

    2. Children in Public Care (Looked after Children) and children recorded in the Child Protection Register or who are ‘at risk’ as advised by thecouncil's Child Protection services.

    3. Children who for strong medical reasons acceptable to the authority should be admitted to a particular school.

    Explanation: The kind of medical grounds we will take into account normally, are those that show that a child should go to the nearest school to her/his home or place of long-term hospital treatment.

    4. Children who will have a sister or brother on roll at the school at the time of admission.

    Explanation: The sister or brother must still be attending the school when the other child starts.

    A sibling connection will be recognised between Connaught School for Girls and Norlington School for Boys.

    6. Other children's places will be allocated in relation to the distance from the child's permanent place of residence to the school.

    Explanation: The distance is measured as a straight line from your home to the centre point of the school. When a child lives with its birth parents, legal guardian or Foster Parent that address will be considered to be the child’s permanent place of residence. If any information given on the application form is found to be false, the LA will withdraw the offer of a school place if the school concerned is over-subscribed.

    Waiting Lists

    Children who do not get a place at their preferred schools are placed on a waiting list. The waiting lists are kept in accordance with the published admission criteria. Waiting lists will not be maintained beyond 31 August 2009.

    Children without school places

    Sometimes children do not have school places for reasons beyond their control. For example, they have just moved into the Borough or they have been permanently excluded from school. To ensure all resident children have places in school, children without school places take precedence over the waiting list, apart from at initial allocation.

    Late applications and applications received after the offer day (2 March).

    Applications received after the closing date but before the offer date.

    Any application made before the last day of the Autumn term, for good reason, will be dealt with in the same way as applications received before the closing date.

    Other applications made after the closing date, but before the offer day, including those for no good reason, will be considered after 30 June 2010, or, for applications later than this, when received, and a school place will be offered on availability.

    Spring Term 2010

    Parents/Legal guardians informed of the school place allocated to their child(ren). The Pupil Admission Service will do this in writing.

    The notification will be sent on 1 March 2010 and the Pupil Admission Service will send offer letters on behalf of the local education authority, other admission authorities in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, and on behalf of schools in other local authority areas.

    Special Educational Provision

    The Local Authority (LA) makes arrangements for the identification and assessment of children who have Special Educational Needs. Parents have an important role in this assessment process and must make an application for a school using the application form.

    The needs of pupils with and without statements are largely met within mainstream schools or special provision maintained by the LA in liaison with school governing bodies. All mainstream schools, including grant maintained and voluntary aided ones, have a special needs department. They are required by law to accommodate the expected range of special educational needs of pupils.

    In some cases it may be appropriate to provide education in schools outside Waltham Forest, some of which are maintained by other authorities and some of, which may be non-­maintained, or independent schools.

    Further information is available on request from the Special Services Section and also at schools and public libraries.

    Admission outside the normal age group

    In cases where a pupil is educated outside his or her normal age group and the LA are aware of these arrangements the parents may apply for a secondary transfer that allows the arrangements to continue in the secondary school.

    In these circumstances the LA will consider these applicants as though they were in the correct age group. This will allow a transfer to secondary school for pupils who may be gifted or have missed a long period of schooling through illness.

    Parents refused an application for a place outside the normal age group have a statutory right of appeal.

    Admissions to Voluntary Aided Schools

    Application for places at these schools must be made on the common application form and returned to the Pupil Admissions Service.

    Admissions to Foundation schools

    Application for places at the school must be made on the common application form and returned to the Pupil Admissions Service.

    Admissions to secondary schools maintained by other local authorities

    Applications for places at schools in other local authority areas must be made on the common application form and returned to the Pupil Admissions Service.

    Eleven plus arrangements for Grammar schools in Enfield and Redbridge.

    Parents must complete the supplementary forms (available from Latymer School at the open evening or the London Borough of Redbridge) to make the arrangements for the eleven plus tests.

    Admissions to Independent schools

    Please apply to the Headteacher of the school concerned.

    Once you have accepted an offer of a place in a school in an independent school any offer for a Waltham Forest School place will be withdrawn and your child’s name will be removed from all waiting lists. Local Authorities and other admissions authorities share information about applications to schools as a matter of routine.

    Moving schools during the academic year

    In the best interests of your child's educational achievement, it is recommended that you discuss your wish to move schools with the headteacher of the school your child currently attends.

    Parents must collect a transfer form from the child’s current school headteacher who may if they wish retain a copy of the information. This is necessary so that schools have details of a child’s new address etc. It also gives the headteacher opportunity to discuss your reasons for seeking a new school and prevent unnecessary movement between schools that can disrupt your child’s education.

    School Prospectuses

    Each school publishes a prospectus which includes detailed information about that school. Please contact the school directly.